Apparatus for excavating, dredging, transporting, and elevating earth, &amp; c.



No. 678,4!9. Patented July I6, 1901.

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APPARATUS FOR EXGAVATING, DBEDGING, TRANSPORT INS, AND ELEVATING EARTH, &c.

{Application filed Inn; 16, 1901.)

(I15 Iudal.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EWEN MOGREGOR, OF MANGAONOHO, NEW ZEALAND.

APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING, DREDGING, TRANSPORTING, AND ELEVATING EARTH, &c.

SPECIFICATION formingpart Of Letters Patent No. 678,419, dated July 16, 1901.

Application filed January 16, 1901. Serial No. 43,447. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EWEN MOGREGOR, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Mangaonoho, in the Colony of New Zealand, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Use in Excavating, Dredging, Transporting, and Elevating Earth and in other Similar Operations; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The improvements that form the subject of the present application for Letters Patent are certain additions to and improvements upon the appliances patented by me in the United States of America, No. 659,154, dated October 2, 1900, and consist in providing means whereby the scoop when it is full may be automatically emptied of its contents at any predetermined position on the carrying-rope, and in the manner of connecting the scoop to the hauling-rope, and means for regulating the depth of cut the scoop will make on each journey.

The improvements also relate to means whereby large stones and boulders may be removed from the path of the scoop, so that its operations may be carried on satisfactorily.

The scoop is suspended from the carryingrope by means of a framework comprising arms upon each side, which are placed near the front and a short distance to the rear of the center of the scoop and provided on their top ends with running wheels which run upon the carrying-rope. The forward or open end of the scoop is retained in a level position by means of arms that extend down each of the outside faces of the scoop and which are provided on their bottom ends with catches that engage with corresponding catches upon the sides of the scoop. These arms have rightangled extensions that extend inward toward the center of the scoop and are'pivoted at the corners to the upper frame thereof,so that they shall assume somewhat the form of a pair of bell-crank levers. The free ends of these lever-arms are each pivotally connected to short rods or links which extend upward and are in their turn pivotally connected to a cross-bar, from the center of which a vertical arm extends. This arm is provided on its upper end with a hollow bearing or groove, which when in its normal position will be slightly below the carrying-rope. This arm and groove will be kept in position by means of a spring in tension that bears against a cross-piece of the upper frame of the scoop and will thus draw up the cross-bar and links, which will have the effect of causing the catches on the supporting lever-arms to engage with and impinge against the catches upon the scoop. At a point in the carryingrope vertically above where it is desired to empty the scoop of its contents is affixed a circular enlargement-piece which is made in. two semicircular halves clamped or screwed together upon the carrying-rope- This en'- largement-pieoe has tapering ends,so that the wheels upon which the scoop runs may readily pass over them. When the scoop reaches the enlargement-piece, the running-wheels will rise thereon, which will have the efiect of cansing the grooved spring-arm to come in contact with the lower side of the enlargement-piece and be depressed. The depression will be communicated through the cross-bar andlinks to the lever-arms and will have the effect of causing them to turn on their pivots and their bottom ends to open outward, so that the catches upon their lower ends will be released from the catches upon the front of the scoop. The scoop will then tilt forward and eject the contents therefrom. The carrying-arms upon the front of the scoop are provided with vertical slots and sliding pins, so that the scoop may not be prevented from tilting.

Extending forward from the pointwhere the rear carrying-arms are pivoted to the sides of the scoop are a pair of arms which contract together in front of the scoop, so as to form a bearing for a running gaging-wheel which is mounted in their forward extremities. The arms that carry this gaging-wheel are capable of being moved up and down on their pivots, and will thus serve to regulate the vertical distance between the bottom of the cutting edge of the scoop and the rim of the gaging-wheel. By this means the depth of cut of the scoop may be regulated. In this instance I prefer to make the hauling-rope endless, running from the motor-engine on one side of the work to be done to a pulley on the other side and then back to the engine. The scoop is connected to the haulingrope at its forward end by means of a short rope or chain, which is secured to the extremities of the forwardly-extending arms and to the hauling-rope. The back of the scoop is connected to the hauling-rope in a similar manner, the scoop being provided at its rear with a link attachment, to which one end of the short rope is secured. This connection is made of a length such that as the scoop is hauled forward it will hang loosely; but when the scoop is hauled back the slack will be taken up by the hauling-rope.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a scoop and part of the carrying and hauling ropes, showing the improvements therein. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same.

The scoop A is suspended from the carry- I ing-rope B by means of the pairs of arms 0 O, which extend down each side of the scoop and are secured thereto, the rear pair 0 being loosely mounted upon pivots C The top ends of each of these pairs of arms are contracted together above the scoop and are provided with running-wheels c c, which run upon the carrying-rope B. The arms on each side are connected together by means of the braces D, so as to form a rigid top frame for the scoop. To this frame are pivoted at 00 the right-angled lever-arms E E, one arm of each of which extends downward and is provided on its lower end with a catch 6, that engages with a catch a upon the side of the scoop A, or instead of the catches e and a the lower ends of the arms may be provided with pins,which fit into holes or sockets in the sides of the scoop. The other extensions of the leverarms E E extend inward toward the center of the scoop and at their inner ends are connected to short links F, which are connected at their top ends to a cross-bar G, which has a vertically-extending arm II, that is provided on its top end with a groove h. When in its normal position this groove h will be a short distance below the carrying-rope B.

Secured to the arm H is a spring J, which bears against a cross-bar j on the frame of the scoop. This spring will tend to press the bar upward, and will thus keep the links F in tension. This will have the effect of keeping the catches e upon the lever-arms E E in close contact with the catches or upon the scoop A.

Secured to the carrying rope is the enlargement-piece Z),which is made in two semicircular halves secured together upon the rope by means of staples or studs. This enlargement-piece has tapering ends, so that the wheels 0 0 may readily pass over it, and is secured upon the rope at a point vertically above where it is desired to empty the scoop.

Extending forward from the pivots C on each side of the scoop are the arms K,which are contracted in front of the scoop, as shown in Fig. 2, so as to form a bearing for the small wheel 7.2. This wheel will serve to regulate the depth of cut that the scoop will take and may be lowered or raised by lowering or raising the arms K upon their pivots C The arms are secured in their desired position by means of the set-screws upon the sides of the frame.

The front of the scoop is connected to the endless hauling-rope L by means of the connection-piece l, which is secured to the forward ends of the arms K. The back of the scoop is connected to the hauling-rope by means of the connection-piece 1, that is sosecured to a loop in the back of the scoop.

In operation it is preferred that after being filled the direction of travel of the scoop shall be reversed by reversing the haulingengine and the scoop drawn back over the scooped portion before being emptied of its contents. When the scoop reaches the enlargement-piece b, the grooved end h of the arm H will come into contact with the under side thereof and be pressed down, the amount of depression being increased by reason of the running-pulleys c 0 having to pass up over the enlargement-piece b. This downward pressure will be communicated through the cross-bar G and links Fto the inner ends of the lever-arms E E and will have the effect of causing them to open out on their pivots 00, thus releasing the catches e from engagement with the catches a on the scoop. The front of the scoop will thus be enabled to tilt down and will turn upon the pivots C The front pair of arms 0 on their lower ends are provided with slots 0 for the purpose of allowing the scoop to tilt, as before described. After the scoop has been emptied it will be hauled forward again for the purpose of making a fresh cut, and the spring J will cause the lever-arms E E to be drawn in again, so that the front of the scoop may be lifted up again into its normal working position.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In apparatus for excavating or dredging earth and similar operations, a scoop to the top frame of which are pivoted two right-angled arms that extend down each side of the scoop and engage with catches thereon, the other ends of the arms being connected to links that are pivoted to a cross-bar with an upwardly-extending arm, such arm being provided on its top end with a groove, as herein specified.

2. In apparatus for excavating or dredging earth and similar operations, the combination with a scoop, of a frame to which said scoop is pivoted, running-wheels journaled in said frame, pivoted catches for holding the scoop level,and tripping mechanism for said catches located slightly below said wheels.

3. In apparatus for excavating or dredging earth and similar operations, a scoop, that is suspended from a carrying-rope and which is kept in a level position by means of catches upon right-angled lever-arms pivoted to the top frame of the scoop, and that is provided with forwardly-extending arms, such scoop being connected to an endless hauling-rope by means of short connections secured to the front and back of the scoop and the haulingrope as specified.

4. In apparatus for excavating or dredging earth and similar operations, a scoop, that is suspended from a carrying-rope and which is kept in a level position by means of catches upon right-angled lever-arms pivoted to the 10 top frame of the scoop, and that is provided with forwardly-extending arms, such scoop being connected to an endless hauling-rope 1 

